'Wicked' understudy suffers stroke, joins lawsuit against Yasmin
June 10th, 2010 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
An understudy for the Broadway show “Wicked” has joined a lawsuit against Bayer HealthCare, claiming the company’s best-seller birth control pill Yasmin caused her to suffer a stroke at the young age of 27. Brenda Hamilton had been on the pill two years when in May 2007 she became ill. She has since recovered.
Brenda’s story is told far too often these days. She is one of more than 1,100 women suing the drug company alleging claims of serious health problems after taking Yasmin, also known as Yaz. The lawsuits claim Bayer was aware of the increased risk of life-threatening blood clots in women taking Yasmin but they failed to adequately warn consumers of that risk. Some studies have backed up those claims; however, Bayer contends the blood clot risk for Yasmin and Yaz is no greater than other oral contraceptives.
Bayer has a reason to contest the claims made by the defendants. Its popular birth control pills have brought in $1.5 billion since 2009, making Yaz and Yasmin the most popular birth control pills in America and a favorite in Canada and numerous European countries. Yasmin and Yaz are different from other birth control pills because they contain drospirenone, a diuretic, that can increase potassium levels in the blood. This imbalance can trigger heart rhythm disturbances that can cause blood clots that can lead to pulmonary embolism, strokes, or even sudden cardiac death. The pills have also been linked to gallbladder disease.
Source: WPIX